Memorandum
South Dakota State Library
Braille and Talking Book Library
February 1997
Editor: Karen Pochop
Patrons of the SD Braille & Talking Book Library
This MEMORANDUM will be our means of communication to our patrons. If you have any questions or comments you would like us to address, or wish to have this memo in large print or braille please contact Karen Pochop.


NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR.... Dan Boyd
TWENTY YEARS OF CHANGE
I have been employed by the SD Braille & Talking Book Library for the past twenty years. As I look back over those twenty years there have been many changes in the library.

In 1976 the library provided recreational reading books in alternative formats of braille, recorded on records or on cassette. The library provided this service to less than 2,000 patrons for both South Dakota & North Dakota. The entire book circulation process was a manual operation. The Library sent out an average of 200 books per day and with the manual system it took between five & six hours to prepare the books for mailing.

When I started at the library the change from records to cassettes had just started. The cassette book collection started with RC 06010 and ended with RC 07900. The cassettes were recorded at 1 7/8 ips on two tracks.. Reel to reel magnetic tapes were still being circulated to some of our library patrons. All of the work was manual, computers were not even considered for use in a Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped. Services included loaning of braille books, books on reel to reel tape, books on hard records and magazines in the same three media. The library had a staff of five full time employees and was housed in an old lumber company warehouse.

The five staff were dedicated to providing the library patrons with the best service possible.

Today the library serves only South Dakota and sends out an average of 300 books, magazines, & newsletters each day. Magnetic reel to reel tape is not circulated anymore and cassettes are now recorded at 15/16 ips on a four track format. In addition to the 78,000 books, magazines & newsletters circulated each year by the library there is another 20,000/30,000 magazines distributed nationally.

One of the first projects I was involved with was the decision to no longer be a braille lending library. Because of the space required for the storage of braille and the few braille readers the decision was made to contract with the Utah Library for the Blind for braille. The entire braille collection was removed from the shelves, packaged and shipped to Salt Lake City, Utah. This move allowed the library room for expansion of the cassette book collection.

The other great change in the library has been in the area of automation. With the computer system the library can now provide library service that is custom designed for each individual library patron. The automation also allowed the library to begin providing other services to our patrons.

Today the library is involved in providing many services to our patrons. In addition to being a library for recreational reading, the library loans descriptive videos, textbooks in braille, cassette, & large print. We have an on line broadcast of local newspapers for Radio Reading Service, management of recording studios at the Federal Prison Camp, management of large print production at the SD Penitentiary, and management of braille production at the SD Penitentiary & the Federal Prison Camp, development & management of a library volunteer program, development and assistance with the management of a classroom braillist association. The library conducts meetings with consumer organizations, development & provision of training in numerous areas, plus providing access to numerous resources for parents, teachers, children and adults who can not read standard print or request information on reading with a print handicap.

The library today has a collection of 39,826 titles. Included in this collection are 32,000 books recorded on cassette, a small children's braille collection of 296 titles, a descriptive video collection of over 200 titles, plus a collection of over 1,200 textbooks in braille, large print, or recorded on cassette tape.

The library today has a staff of 7 full time and one part time employee. These 7.5 staff are dedicated to providing the best possible library service.


VOICE MAIL:
If you have called us recently you have probably encountered our voice mail. The SD Braille & Talking Book Library wants to serve you better and with voice mail this will be possible. There are times when all staff are on the phone and cannot take your call. Please listen to the message and wait for the beep then leave your full name, telephone number and message or request list, we will return your call as soon as possible.


BROWSE "OUR SHELVES" FROM HOME!
The South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library continues to try to provide the best possible library service.

You can now browse the shelves of the South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library from the comfort of your home 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you have a computer with access to the Internet you can access the Library home page. From this home page you can access our On-line Public Access Catalog (OPAC) to find out about available fiction and non-fiction recorded books.

You can search the OPAC for books by title, author, or subject keyword, and you can place orders by e-mail and have the books mailed to you directly.

Through the Braille & Talking Book Library home page you will be able to send messages to individual staff of the Library, ask questions and make suggestions. You can also send a message to request equipment, notify us of a change of address, and even ask reference questions.

From the home page there is also access to many other resources on the Internet.

If you are interested in using the OPAC or visiting the Library home page call us toll free and visit with one of the staff.


NETWORK TELEVISION HOME PAGES:
DESCRIPTIVE VIDEOS AVAILABLE:
We have Descriptive Videos available for loan to registered SDBTBL patrons. They are blockbuster movies that are now specially described for people who are blind or have low vision. Described Video Service carefully describes the visual elements of a movie such as the action, characters, locations, costumes and sets, without interfering with the dialogue or sound effects. To watch these movies, you need a regular VHS video cassette recorder(VCR) and a television. If you have a decoder most of the movies are also closed caption for hearing impaired.

Currently, there are several hundred descriptive videos available commercially. We would like to purchase all of these titles and are looking for funding sources.

If you have comments, give us a call!

To order or receive a complete listing call: the SD Braille & Talking Book Library at 1-800-423-6665 and ask for Judy.


AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND INVITES NOMINATIONS FOR BEST NARRATORS OF TALKING BOOKS
New York- The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is inviting nominations for the 11th Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Awards. The awards were established by AFB in 1986 in memory of its most popular narrator, who recorded Talking Books for nearly 50 years.

Two Scourby Awards will be presented, representing outstanding narration in fiction and nonfiction. All Talking Book readers are eligible to nominate a Talking Book Narrator in each category. A third, "special recognition" Scourby Award will also be given at the awards ceremony and reception, tentatively scheduled for June.

Previous recipients are not eligible for the Alexander Scourby Narrator of the Year Award.

To cast your vote or for more information, contact: American Foundation for the Blind, Communications Group, 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001;

e-mail: afbnews@afb.org; telephone: 1-800-AFB-LINE, that's 1-800-232-5463. Submissions must be made no later than March 28, 1997.


TEXTBOOK USERS:
Please return your textbooks when you are done with them. You do not have to wait for the end of the school year. Many textbooks are used for a quarter or a semester, especially novels. Once you are done with them, we would like you to return them so they will be available for other students.

Please remember that the special format textbooks are on loan for your use during school but remain the property of the SD Braille and Talking Book Library. If you have any questions on this, please call the Library. If your questions relate to cassette or large print textbooks, ask for Karen Pochop. If your questions relate to braille, ask for Connie Sullivan.


SCOUT MANUAL FOR LD:
The National Center for Learning Disabilities is pleased to have been able to join with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to revise and update their manual, "Scouting for the Learning Disabled". This handbook will help Scout leaders to better understand the nature of learning disabilities and will enable them to plan and (when necessary) modify activities to insure that all children can take full advantage of the wide range of experiences that scouting has to offer. Scouting manuals are also available to address the needs of youth with emotional disabilities, physical disabilities, mental retardation, hearing impairment, and visual impairment. For more information, contact BSA at (214) 580-2000. ("The Circuit", Jan./Mar. 1997)


REMINDERS:
Are you getting enough books, if not it's time to call or mail in a request list with your selections. Many times there is a waiting list for popular books so a long list of selections is best so you will not go without regular mailings.

Updating your service is important. If we are sending you books you do not like, it could be time for you to update your reading interests with your Reader Advisor.

Do not place notes about books or services inside book containers or on return address cards as they are easily missed. Please call you Reader Advisor at 1-800-423-6665 with the information or questions you may have.